2.1b Right To Life

The Fifth Commandment“You shall not kill”Teaches us that all human life is sacred.From its beginning, each human life involves

the creative action of God and is a relationship with God.

We are called to respect our own life and the lives of others.

All human life is valuableEven if it is weak, we do not have the right to

destroy it by abortion or euthanasia.Abortion – the induced termination of a

pregnancy by the destruction of the embryo or fetus.

Euthanasia – the act of killing hopelessly sick or injured individuals for the reasons of mercy.

Right To LifeAs Catholics, we believe that human life

begins at the moment of conception (sperm combining with egg to forming a zygote), NOT birth.

At conception, the person has all their chromosomes and will begin a process of growth that ends at natural death.

Therefore from the moment of conception, we believe life is sacred and should not be harmed or taken unnaturally.

3 week old blastocystRapid cell division

and differentiationBlastocyst will

implant in the uterus soon

The blastocyst doesn’t look much like a human but it is most definitely is human – each cell will contain the same human DNA from the zygote.

4 week old embryoOrgans and muscles

develop Early in the

embryonic stage most animals look similar

Further in the embryonic stage the baby gradually begins to look more and more like a baby

10 week old fetusIn the fetal stage of

development, the baby will continue to grow and develop organs, muscles and bones.

The heart is beating and the baby is moving around

The baby will go from a couple of inches to its eventual birth length and weight

20 weeks old fetusAbout the length of

a banana and weighs 10.5 oz

Swallowing amniotic fluid to practice for digestion

Moving around and kicking constantly

Baby can hear and recognize mother’s voice

38 week old fetusThe baby is

considered full term and labour is expected in the next couple of weeks

A baby born as early as 24 weeks (after conception ) can survive with medical intervention

Recall: from last classThe Fifth commandment calls us to show an

appreciation of the precious gift of life and health.

It calls us to avoid every kind of excess that will damage our health and life (cigarettes, high fat diet, drinking, drugs, reckless lifestyle).

Our life comes from God and we have been entrusted with its safe keeping.

The Church’s TeachingHumanae Vitae – An encyclical letter (letter from the pope to the bishops of the world) of Pope Paul VI published in 1968. It clarified and restated the Church’s position

against artificial birth control, premarital sexual relations, abortion and fornication.

Its teaching about conjugal love, respect for life and the dignity of the human can be extended to our Church’s moral opposition to euthanasia and in vitro fertilization.